Control mechanism for sewage ejectors



H. E. ADAMS CONTROL MECHANISM FOR SEWAGE EJECTORS Filed Oct. 22, 1928 5 SheeiS-Shee't l .i O 0 O uw @gg im... wm. my @m Km. NY Nr NH .0.o GII/o oo 0.11m mm 0o Ollm www,

jan. 26, 1932. Hl E, ADAMS 1,842,641

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR SEWAGE EJECTORS Filed Oct. 22, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 w N w Jan. 26, 3932. H. E. ADAMS CONTROL MECHANISM FOR SEWAGE EJECTORS' 5 Seets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 22, 1928 Jan. 2S, QS.

H. E. ADAMS CONTROL MECHANISM FOR SEWAGE EJECTORS Filed Oct. 22, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 an., QM., H. E. MEANS CONTROL MEOHAmsr-n FOR sEwAGE EJEOTORS `Filed Oct.

22. 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet v5 '19 Wwf. www r t' l Patented Jan. 26, 1932 UNITED STATES @ii'FlCE HAROLD E. ADAMS, OF SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTTCUT, ASSIGNOR TO NASH EN- GINEERING COMPANY, OF SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT CONTROL MECHANISM FOR SEWAGE EJECIORS Appication filed october $253, 19%.

This invention relates to a mechanism for controlling' the operations of a plurality of se 'age ejectors of the gene 'al type shown in the prior patent to Jennings No. 1,492,171, issued April 29, 1924.

A battery ot several such ejectors is trequently required in large sewage stations and it is one important object of my invention to provide mechanism for causing automatic operation of such ejectors in a predetermined order.

Further features o1 my invention relate to the provision of means for varying such predetermined order, to the provision of means .for permitting automa-tic operation in the order of lilling, and to the provision of means permit-ting manually controlled operation of any ejector at any time.

A further object of my invention is to provide interlocking' devices preventing concurrent automatic operation of more than a. singrle ejector. I have also provided means to indicate whether or not a particular ejector is full and to indicate When a particular ejector is beingr emptied or blown.

My invention further relates to arrange ments and combinations ot' parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A. preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view off the control panel;

Fig. :2 is a. diagrannnatic view of the control circuits;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the pneumatic mechanism for controlling the blowing of a sewage ejector;

F ig. el is a sectional side elevation of the selector device;

Fig. 5 is aside view thereof, looking in the direction of the arrow 5 in Fig'. el.; and

Fig. 6 isa detail sectional View, taken along' the line 6-6 in Fig'. 5.

Blow/'ng apparatus (md pneumatic control hereof Referring to Fig. 3, I have indicated a type of sewage ejector such as is shown in the Jennings Patent No. 1,492,171, and compris- Serial No. 314,031.

ingr a sewage ejector which operates by allowingv the sewage to How by gravity into a vented closed tank 10. When the tank is full, a lio-at valve 12 causes the closing of the vent through the operation of a suitable pilot i switch. (not shown) and causes air to be forced into the tank, from which the sewage is thereby ejected. Check valves 13 and 11i prevent the flow of sewage in the reverse direction. lrieliy stated, this is the operation of the sewage ejector-s which my apparatus is designed to control. For a more complete description o i" this type of ejector, reference is made to the prior Jennings patent.

The tank 10 is commonly referred to in the trade as a sewage pot7 and the operation of forcing' the sewage therefrom is known as cblowing the pot.

l have provided pneumatic control of the air supply for blowing,` the pot 10. A con1bination valve 15 connected by a pipe 16 to the pot 10 and this valve has an air supply connection 17 and a vent connection 18. Tivo valves 19 and 20 are mounted on a plunger 21 and control the connection of the pipe 1G to the air supply pipe 17 or to the vent pipe 18. The plunger 2l rests upon a diaphragm in a casing' 23 connected by a pipe 24 to a casing 9,5 positioned between a pair of control valves 28 and 27.

The valve 2G is ad apt-ed to connect the cas ing' 25 to a source oi air pressure, and the valve 2? is adapted to connect the casing' 25 to the atmosphere. The valveQbl is normally closed, the valve 2'? is normally open, and the diaphragm 22 is normally in its lower position. The valve 19 is thus normally closed, and the valve 2() normally open, and the ejector' pot 20 is thus normally connected to the atmosphere, permitting' flow of sewage by gravity into the ejector pot.

The valves 26 and 2i" are controlled by mage ners 28 simultaneously operated. Then both valves are raised, the air connections are reversed throughout, air pressure is admitted through the pipe 524i to the diaphragm casing` 23, the valve plunger 21 is raised, the valve 2O is closed and the valve 19 is opened to admit air under pressure through the pipe 16 to cause emptying or blowing ofthe pot 10. Vhen the magnet circuit is broken, the valves resume their normal position as first described.

General system offri] cof/trol In my improved controlling apparatus, I have provided very flexible means for controlling the blowing of a battery of ejector pots in a variety of combinations.

In the rst place, I have provided means for blowing the pots successively in predetermined order, and I have also provided means for varying the order at the will of the operator.

I have also provided means available when desired for causing the pots to blow in hit-ormiss order or in the random order of filling.

lith either method of operation, I have provided interlocking devices for preventing the blowing of more than a single pot at any one time.

In addition to` these Control devices, I have provided test switches by which any pot may be blown at any time under manual control, and I have provided red and green lights, or other signal devices, for indicating when each separate pot is full, and also when each pot is in the operation of being blown.

I also providemeans for cutting out any separate pot from the electrical control for purposes of repair or otherwise, without interfering with the selective or automatic operation of the remaining pots.

ontrol apparatus I will now separately describe the different parts of my control apparatus and the method of operation thereof.

Referring to Fig. 1, I have shown a typical control panel illustrating diagrammaticallj7 the different elements of my control apparatus, as applied to a battery of three ejectors.

At A, I have shown the red and green signal lights indicating which pots are full and which pots are blowing.

At B, I have indicated the manually controlled selector switch by which five different sequences of operation may be secured. Assuming that the pots are numbered 1, 2 and 3, the selector gives the orders 1 2-3 or 1-3--2 and also, in case any single pot is disabled7 it gives the orders 1-2, 1 3, or 2-3.

At C I have indicated a six pole, doubleactingswitch by which the apparatus may be placed under the control of the selector device or may be set to operate hit-or-miss, in the order of filling.

At D I have indicated the main power lines :find the main cont-rol switch and fuses thereor. c

At E, I have indicated test switches for the three ejector pots, the operation of which Will be hereinafter described.

At F, I have indicated magnetic switcaes for controlling the operation of the several pots, and at C I have shown six pole, singleacting safety switches by which any one of the pots may be cut out of operation for repairs or for other purposes.

Selector Ze/vice Vwhich a selector hand wheel 3G and a selector disc or spider 37 are secured.

The. spider 37 has six arms 38 extending' radially therefrom and indicated in Fig. 2 as 38A, 38B, etc., each of said arms having al contact point 4() connected by a loosely coiled wire 41 to a terminal 42 fixed in the sub-panel 31. The contact spider 37 has a movement of less than sixty degrees, so that the wires 41 maintain their connection between the contacts 40 and th-e terminals 42 in all positions of the spider.

The contacts 40 engage terminals 44, also iixed in the sub-panel 31 and connected by wires 45 to terminals 46, 4T or 43 in the double control switch C by which the system of operation is determined.

There are thirty of the terminals 44, mounted in the sub-panel 31, and the wires 45 from these thirty terminals are assembled in three groups or cables, as indicated in Fig. 2. The numerals 1, 2 and 3 on the contacts 44 indicate that these numbered contacts control sewage ejectors having corresponding numbers.

The details of operation, as controlled by the selector', will be hereinafter described.

There are six terminals 42 in the sub-panel 31, indicated in Fig. 2 as 42A, 42B, etc., which terminals are engaged successively by a contact member mounted in a supporting disc 51 and yieldingly pressed outward by a coil spring 52.

A six tooth ratchet 53 5) is secured to the disc 51, the disc and ratchet being freely rotatable on the fixed main shaft or stud 34. A hook pawl 54 is mounted on an arm 55, rotatable on a bushing 56 (Fig.,4) fixed to the end of the main shaft 34. A stud 57 is fixed in the arm and extends through a transverse slot 58 in an actuating rod'59.

'Ihe rod 59 is slidable in a bearing 60 and is yieldingiy drawn to the right, as viewed in Fig. 5, by a coil spring 61, to retract the pawl 54. rIhe opposite end of vthe rod 59 is pivoted at 62 to the head 63 of the plunger 64, extending within a solenoid coil 65 (Fig. 5).

When current passes through the solenoid, the rod 59 is drawn to the left, as vviewed in Fig. 5, turning the ratchet 53 and plate recenti .5l through an angle oit sixty degrees, thus advancing the contact from one terminal 42 to the next terminal in order.

The contact 50 is electrically connected by the spring 52 to a collector ring- 67 engaged by a spring Contact 68 (Fig. 6) mounted on a stud 09 fixed in the sub-panel 31 and hav ing a contacting wire 'T0 connected thereto.

The opposite end oi the wire 70 (Fig. 22) is connected to a` terminal 71 on the double control switch C. The solenoid 65 is also connected by wires 72 and 73 2) to terminals 7land T5 on the switch C.

Operation of lic selector Ze/uic@ The operation of the selector device is as iol lows lllhenever a circuit 'is completed through the wires 72 and 7b and the solenoid (S5, the pawl is operated. to advance the ratchet 53 and contact 50 `trom one terminal 42 to the next. Each terminal el@ is connected through its wire Ll1 to a contact 40 which engages one ot tive selected terminals 4A, by which the lowing of the dili'erent ejector pots is controlled.

ln Fig. 2, the ditlierent terminals 42A, lll, etc., are shown connected by the wires Li1 to corresponding contact members 10 on the spider arms 38A, 38B, etc.

Assuming that the spider 37 is positioned as shown in Fig. 2 and that the contact 50 cngages the terminal l2-C, the circuit will pass through a wire 41 to a contact 40, on the arni 3S C, said contact 40 beingshown as engaging a terminal 4:4; connected to the No. il ejectrn'.

On the next actuation of the solenoid lnlunger.` the contact 50 will be advanced to the terminal Ll2-D, which is. connected to control the No. 1 ejector.

The contact lf2-E controls the No. Q ejector' and the contact elQ---F controls the No. 3 ejector.

llfith the spider set in this position. the pots will :wcordingly be blown in the order 1.-:2-3. It the spider 37 is turned one space clockwise. the order will be changed to 13-2- Another space clockwise, gives the order 1-2, 1*2. The next space produces the order l--l, 1-3 and the last space operates the ej'ectors in the order 2-3, 2-3, thus covering all. possible (annbinations ot the three ejectors in groups of either two or three.

General ope/cvica of the cour/trol mccm'H/lsm l'la ving described the coiistruction and operation oit the mechanism tor blowing the ejector pots and of thc selector devices for determining the order et operation, l will nor.' describe the general operation oi2 the device.

l will tiret describe the operation when the control switch C is set for blowing the pots in predetermined sequence.

Line wires L and L2 are connected into the circuit through a double contact single throw switch 77 and suit-able fuses, this group ot mechanism being indicated by the letter D.

Line Wire L2 is connected to three of the terminals of each safety cut-out switch G, one of these switches being provided for each ejector.

The float control switch for the No. 3 ejector is indicated diagrammatically at 80 in the lower right hand corner ot' Fig. 2. This lloat switch controls two contacts 81 and 82. When a pot is filled, the iioat switch operates to close. the contacts 81 and 82.

rlhe line wire L2 is then connected through the safety switch G, contact 81, a second terminal 83 of the switch G and a wire 841 to the No. 3 green light 85, through which it is connected to a branch of the line wire L thus completing the circuit.

The tirst eitect ot closing the float switch 80 therefore to light the No. 3 green signal to indicate that the No. 3 potis full.

At the same. time the contact 82 closes an interlocking circuit through the terminal 87 of the safety switch, the wire 88, the normally closed contact 89 of the No. 1 magnetic switch F, a wire 907 a normally closed contact 91 oit the No. :2 switch, and a wire 92 connecting to a terminal 93. From 93, the connection continues through a wire 94 to the magnet coil 95 oi the No. l magnetic switch F and thence through a wire 96 to a member 9? oit the six pole double throw control switch C.

Assuming that this switch is thrown to the left for sequence operation, the circuit con tinues through the terminal. i8 and the wir-e 45 to the selector arm 35S-C, which in turn is connected through a wire 41, contact 50 and wire .70 to the terminal 71 of the switch C and thence to a` terminal 98 connected to a branch oil the power line L.

The circuit through the magnet 95 is thus completed by the closing of the contact 82, assuming that neither the No. 1 nor the No.

ejectors are being blown.

The magnet 95 then pulls the switch bar 100 oiE the No. 3 magnetic switch F to the right, closingl contacts 101 and 102 and opening contacts 103 and 104. The contacts 103 and 104 are in the interlocking circuits oi the No. 1 and No. 2 ejector-s, similar to the contacts 89 and 91 previously described, and the opening of these contacts 103 and 104 ettectively iufcvents automatic operatioii of either ot the other ejectors so long` as these contacts remain open.

The contact 101 in the No. 8 magnetic switch F controls a so-called hold in7 circuit. lWhen this contact is closed, a return circuit from the magnet 95 is completed through a wire 105, the contact 101 and a wire 106 to the power line L', thus providing L passes through the contact 102 in the magnetic switch F, then through a wire 110 to a terminal 111. A branch wire 112 connects the terminal 111 through the No. 3 red light 113 to the power line L2, thus lighting the red signal to indicate that the No. 3 ejector is being blown. The terminal 111 is also connected by a second branch wire 115 and through a terminal 116 in the No. 3 safety switch G to a wire 117 having parallel circuits through the magnet coils controlling the operation of the valves 26 and 27 previously described.

rhe return circuit from the coils 118 is through a wire 119 and terminal 120 to a branch o't' the power line L2.

lVhen the magnet coils 118 are energized, the valve 26 is opened and the valve 27 is closed to actuate the diaphragm 22 and admit Vair pressure to the No. 3 pot, as previously described.

It will be seen therefore that the closing of the No. 3 float switch 80 acts iirst to light the No. 3 green light 85, indicating that the No. 3 pot is full. Simultaneously the contact 82 is closed, completing the operative circuit if the interlocking contacts 89 and 91 in the No. 1 and No. 2 magnetic switches are both closed, indicating that neither one of these ejectors is being blown.

lt these switches are closed, the No. 3 red signal 113 is lighted and the magnetic coils 118 are energized to shift the pneumatic connections and admit air under pressure to blow the No. 3 ejector pot. rllhe hold-in switches 101 and 102 are also closed, maintainin the circuits during the advance movement et the selector.

Opa-m1517115; connect/ons for the selector l will now describe the mechanism for advancing the selector contact 50, step by step. For this purpose the terminal 93 previously described is connected' through a delayedaction switch 120 (Fig. 2) to a wire 121 and through a terminal 122 of the control switch C to the terminal 74 previously described. From the terminal 74 the circuit is comple-ted through the wire .72. wire 73, contact 75 and switch terminal 1211 to the power line L.

The delayed-action switch is a usual commercial device and in itself forms no part of my invention. The switch may havey a dash pot control or may be otherwise so controlled as to close a few seconds after the closing ot the hold-in switches 101 and 102.

The pawl mechanism is thus operated to move the selector to the next spider arm 38'. thus placing it in position for operating the next ejector in sequence as soon as the No. 3 magnetic switch F returns to normal position, restoring the interlocking circuits.

lVhen the No. 3 pot is emptied, the float switch 80 will move to the left in Fig. 2 to open the contacts 81 and 82, thus extinguishing the green signal, showing that the No. 3

pot is no longer full, and also breaking the 7 circuit through the red signal and through the magnet coils 118. thus interrupting'the blowing operation and also extinguishing the red signal to show that the No. 3 pot has ceased blowing.

Random operation It' it is desired to blow the pots in the order of filling, rather than in predetermined sequence, the control switch C will be thrown to the right in Fig. 2, thus cutting outthe selector device circuits and the solenoid'circuit. and connecting the three magnetic switches direct to the power line L.

Referring to the No. 3 ejector, the circuit T est switches l have provided test switches E by which any ejector may be blown at anytime. It' the No. 3 testswitch is closed, for instance, a circuit is immediately completed through the wire 115. terminal 116` wire 117 magnet coils 118, wire 119 and terminal 120 to the power line L2, while at the same time the branch connection through the terminal 111 and wire 112 illuminates the red light 113.

Similar connections through the No. 1 and No. 2 circuits are controlled by the No. 1 and No. 2 test switches, it being understood that all of the mechanism shown as connected with the No. 3 safety cut-out switch G isduplicated on the No. 1 and No. 2 ejectors.

Conclusion and as they are substantial duplicates of the i lit) " anonce,

No. B circuits, it is not believed necessary to further describe the operation thereof.

Having described the details of construction and the general operation of my improved control mechanism, it will be seen that l have provided an extremely flexible mechanism.

By tiirmving the control switch C to the left or right, the operation may be in pre determined sequence or in random or hit-or miss order. By moving the selector wheel 3G the order may be varied as desired. Three ejectors may be used in l-Q- or l---Q order or any two ejectors may be used in l-2, 1-23, or 23 order.

Furthermore, any .ejector may be rendered inoperative by opening its safety cut-out switch without breaking the interlocking circuits or .interfering with the operation of the other two ejectors.

Finally, l have provided the test switches lil by which any ej eetor may be blown at any time, even if only partially full and regardless of the other eje-tors which may be at that time in operation.

l. have shown the connections for three ejectors, but my invention is applicable to either more or less ejectors, as desired.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, l do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what lf claim iszl. ln a sewage ejecting system, a plurali i ty of ejectors, .means to vent and fill each of said ejectors, means to blow said ejectors, and automatically controlled means for effecting blowing of said ejectors in predetermined scquence.Y

ln a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of ejectors, means to vent and fill each of said ejectors, means to blow said ejectors, automatically controlled means for effecting blowing of said ejectors in predetermined sequence, means for changing said sequence, and additional manually controlled means for blowing any selected ejector, and means to simultaneously' prevent the blowing of any other ejector.

3. ln a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of ejectors, means to vent and fill each of said ejectors, means to blow said ejectors, automatically controlled means for effecting blowing of said ejectors in predetermined seadditional manually controlled .means for blowing any selected ejector', and means to simultaneously prevent the blowing of any other ejector'.

fl. ln a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of ejector-s, means to blow said ejectors in predetermined sequence, and means to si multuneously and automatically prevent the blowing of any other ejector while any one ejector is being blown.

5. in a sewage eject-ing system, a plurality of ejectors, automatic control means for blowing said ejectors in predetermined sequence, automatic control means for blowing said ejectors in the order of filling, and means to place said ejector-s under control of the desii-ed automatic means.

t3. In a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of ejectors, automatic control means for blowing said ejectors in predetermined sequence, automatic control means for blowing said ejector-s in the order of filling, and a manual device to place said ejectors under control of the desired automatic means.

ln a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of ejector-s, automatic control means for blowing said ejectors in predetermined sequence, automatic control means for blowing said ejectors in the order of filling, a manual device to place said ejectors under control of the desired automatic means, additional manually controlled means for blowing any ejector at any time, and means to simultaneously prevent the blowing of any other ejector.

8. ln a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of ejectors, means to vent and fill each of said ejector-s, means to blow said ejectors, separate control connections for indicating and blowing each ejector', and means to shift said connections to a predetermined succeeding ejectorl upon the blowing of aparticular ejector.

9. In a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of ejectors, separate control connections for indicating and blowing each ejector, and means to shift said connections to a predetermined succeeding ejector upon `the blowing of a particular ejector and before said blowing is completed.

l0. ln a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of ejectors, means to vent and lill each of said ej ectors, means to blow said ejectors, a control mechanism determining the order of blowing thereof, said mechanism including a selector having a rotary step by step movement, and means to vary the selective effect of said step by step movement.

ll. in a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of ej ectors, means to vent and fill each of said ejectors, means to blow said ejectors, a control mechanism determining the order of blowing thereof, said mechanism including a selector having a rotary step by step movement, said selector having a plurality of circuit closing contact arms and said control mechanism including a plurality of terminals separately controlling each ejector, said terminals being arranged in the path of said contact arms. Y

l2. In a sewage ej ecting system, a plurality of ej ectors, means to vent and fill each of said ejectors, automatically controlled means to blow said ejectors, and interlocking control mechanism effective to prevent the automatic operation of more than a single ejector at any given time, said mechanism including separate control connections for blowing each ejector and means to shift said connections to a succeeding ejector upon the blowing of a preceding ejector.

13. In a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of ejectors, means to blow said ejectors, magnetic switches controlling said blowing means7 and interlocking control circuits for said switches, whereby the operation of any one magnetic switch simultaneously disables all of the other magnetic switches.

14. In a sewage ejecting system, a plurality of cjectors, means to vent and fill each of said ejectors, means to blow said ejectors, a separate switch controlled by a iioat for each ejector, a sional circuit directly operated by said switch, and a blowing circuit jointly controlled by circuit connections through the several switches.

15. In a sewage system, a plurality of ejectors, switches eiiective on closing to blow said ejectors, a selective device determining which switch shall be closed, and a delayed action device effective thereupon to select a different switch.

16. In a sewage ej ecting system, a plurality of ejectors, means to vent and lill each of said ejectors, means to blow said ejectors7 a control mechanism determining the order ot blowing thereof, said mechanism including a selector having a rotary step by step movement, automatically actuated means to operate said selector through its step by step movement, and means to vary the selective effect ot said step by step movement.

17. In a sewage ejecting mechanism, a plurality of ejectors, means to vent and lill cach of said ejectors, means to blow said ejectors, a control mechanism determining the order of blowing thereof, said mechanism including a selector having a rotary step by step movement, said selector having a plurality of circuit closing contact arms, and said control mechanism including a plurality ot terminals separately controllin y each ejector, said terminals arranged in the path of said contact arms and automatically actuated means to operate said selector through its step by step movement.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto aflixed my signature.

HAROLD E. ADAMS. 

